Enrolment/Admission Policy

The Enrolment Policy of Scoil Iosaif Naofa has been formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1998 in order to assist Parents in relation to enrolment matters. The Chairperson of the Board of Management or the Principal will be happy to clarify any further matters arising from the policy.

Parents seeking to enroll their child (ren) in Scoil Ioaif Naofa are requested to return a completed Enrolment Application Form (available from the Principal) with an original Birth/Adoption Certificate to the school by 31st May each year. A Certificate Baptism should also be provided where the child has been baptized. The names of children for whom Enrolment Application forms and Birth/Adoption Certificates have been returned, will be placed on a class list. Under the Rules of the Department of Education and Science pupils may only be enrolled from the age of 4 years and upward.

Equality of access is the key value that determines the enrolment of children to our school. No child residing with the parish is refused admission for reasons of ethnicity, special educational needs, disability, language/accent, gender, traveler status, asylum-seeker/refugee status, religious or political beliefs & values, family or social circumstances.

While recognizing the right of parents to enroll their child in the school of their choice, the Board of Management of Scoil Iosaif Noafa is also responsible to respect the rights of the existing school community and in particular, the children already enrolled.

This requires balanced judgments, which are guided by the principals of natural justice and acting in the best interest of all children. Assisting the school in such circumstances, the Board of Management, with due regard for the Patron’s wishes, reserves the right to determine the maximum number of children in each separate classroom bearing in mind:

Size of/available space in classrooms

Availability of grants and teacher resources provided by the Department of Education and Science

Educational needs of children of a particular age.

Multi-grade classes.

Presence of children with special educational/behavioral needs.

Department of Education and Science maximum class average directives.

In the event of the number of children seeking enrolment in any given class/standard exceeding the number of places available preceding or during the school year (due to the Board of Management being unable to provide suitable accommodation, or recruit the required teaching staff) the following criteria will be used to prioritise children for enrolment:

Catholic children of the parish or the traditional catchment area served by the school, including children of Traveling Community resident within parish or this traditional catchment area.

Brothers and sisters of children in the school. These children must have resided in the area when first enrolled in Scoil Iosaif Naofa

The children of teachers who are working in a full time capacity in the school

Catholic children who live outside the parish and do not have a Catholic school in their parish

All children who live within the parish boundaries but are not Catholic applying for a placement are entitled to a place if there are vacancies after the groups from (i) to (iii) have been allocated.

All children who apply to the school and are not Catholics and not residents within the parish boundaries are entitled to a place in the school if there are vacancies in the school after the groups from (1) to (4) have been allocated places

In order to accommodate groups (i) and (ii) Boards may have to operate a cut off in age of applicants to give places to groups (i) and (ii) if there is pressure for places in the school. Schools within the parish co-operate with one another in this area taking into account the wider needs of the parish community and its apostolic mission.

There is a Registration Week in February of each year other pupils may be enrolled during the school year (if newly resident in the area). Pupils wishing to transfer from other schools are enrollee subject to the Rules governing National Schools, as well as our own school’s enrolment policy and local agreements with other schools. Under the terms of The Education Welfare Act (2000) information concerning attendance and the child’s educational progress are to be provided by the school from which the child is transferring.

Prospective parents are encouraged to visit the school by appointment prior to the enrolment of their child(ren)

Children with special needs will be resourced in accordance with the level of resources provided by the Department of Education and Science to the Board of Management.

Not withstanding the availability of such resources, parents of children who are unsatisfied with the level of educational provision in our school are advised to consider a special school which is designed and resources to specifically cater for the needs of children with special educational needs.

Children enrolled in our school are requires to co-operate with and support the School/Board of Management’s Code of Behaviour as well as all other policies on curriculum, organizing, & management. The Board of Management places Parents/Guardians as appropriate for ensuring that their child(ren) co-operate with said policies in an age-appropriate way. In accordance with the Department of Education and Science’s rules for national School’s a child may be suspended.